Guest Post Heart of a Dragon by Myra Nour

Title: Heart of the Dragon
Author: Myra Nour
Series: Volarn Chronicles (#2)


Blurb


Can Eric, a tough, handsome Green Beret from Earth, convince Kasha, the stubborn warrior princess of Volarn, that he loves
her? Not before they experience adventure in the haunted wastelands, discover a baby dragon, and explore the hot,
sensual side of their relationship.

Travel back to Volarn for more magical romance and new adventure with King Rhamus's sister, Kasha, and Olga's brother, Eric. If you loved Love's Captive, be enchanted with Volarn Chronicles Book Two. Find out what sad secret makes Kasha run from love. Follow the characters' fox and hound game of love, as each pushes the other to their limits, climaxing in a dramatic rescue that changes everything. Be warned, this book is filled with humor and love that knows no bounds. And an adorable, goofy dragon that will win your heart, so that you will be asking "How do I adopt a dragon of my own!".

Guest Post Topic pick an excerpt and tell me why it was special to you.

Excerpt

Scene: Eric & Kasha barely escape the enemy

Kasha rode furiously behind Eric up the treacherous winding mountain trail.  Good sense dictated a slower pace, but the patrol of west Volarnians gaining rapidly on them demanded otherwise.  She knew she shouldn't have let him talk her into separating from the patrol, in order to “show her some pretty scenery.”

Pulling her yasmir up abruptly, causing it to rear, she waited for him to discover she no longer followed.  He'd turned swiftly upon hearing her mount's snorted protest and sped back to her side.

"Why have you stopped?"

"We'll be trapped at the top of the cliff if we continue.  Why don't we try off through those woods?  There's a better chance of escape." She pointed toward the sparse growth of trees.

    "No," he shook his head.  "It's too dangerous.  There's loose shale in that direction."

She barely had time to wonder how he knew there was shale on this mountain, but matters were too pressing at this point to give it further consideration.  Instead, her mind latched onto his other statement.  

"Dangerous!" She practically screeched.  “Have you any idea what my enemy will do if they catch you?  You humiliated the commander of west Volarn’s troops.  Rorri's never been beat in hand-to-hand combat, and you can bet he's out for blood." 

"I know, you told me a few weeks ago.”  He smiled and then continued.  “Why worry?  Is he at the head of that patrol?" Eric pointed at the fast approaching group of warriors who were pounding their way furiously up the steep incline.

Her heart beat a tense rhythm in her chest as she glanced at him.  His pale good looks, so alien on this world, never failed to trigger an unaccustomed arousal in her, joined now by her fear for his life.

"You idiot, it's too late now," She worried her lower lip, as she looked around frantically for some magic escape route.  

Eric shrugged.  "I can give them a good fight, once I get past their swords.  Besides, I have a wonderful swordswoman at my side."

She chose to ignore his compliment.  Even she couldn't take down twenty warriors.  "We could surrender."

"Would you?" One eyebrow shot up, looking comical.

She looked back at him without answering.  No, she wouldn't surrender.  If she were by herself, maybe.  It would be embarrassing when the west Volarnian ambassador asked for ransom from the King.  That is, if he didn't decide to hold her hostage as a political pawn.  But that wouldn't help Eric, now he'd made such a personal enemy of Rorri.

As she placed her hand on her sword, acceptance washing over her face, he stopped her with a wave.  

Eric gestured toward the mountain top.  "Let's go on ahead, there'll be a way out."

It made no sense to her.  Nothing but a cliff and a perilously steep drop were located in that direction.  Even though she'd never personally traversed this mountain, she knew the lay of the land.  Kasha was ready to grasp at straws, anything to protect Eric.  

Turning in unison, the pair slapped their yasmirs' rumps sharply and took off in a burst of speed.  Their mounts churned the ground with their hooves, fueled by their urgency.

Eric got to the cliff's edge first, jumped off his steed and began to untie a bulky package.  When Kasha had asked him about it earlier, he’d grinned and flippantly told her it was his lunch.

She jumped off her yasmir as it still moved and joined him.  "How can you think of food at a time like this?"

"I lied," he laughed as he spilled out the contents.  A puffy bulk of material lay upon the ground, thin ropes intermeshed with the gossamer fabric.

"What is that, a secret weapon?" She asked sarcastically.

"Of sorts," Eric replied as he spread it out, then pulled several of the ropes over his shoulders and strapped one at his waist.  Most of the material rested on his back.

She looked glumly down the trail.  The enemy was so near now, she could see their triumphant expressions and the killing lust on their faces.  There would be no escape.  Eric gripped her arm and turned her to face him.

"Do you trust me?"

His eyes twinkled, exuding a cheerfulness she found strange in such circumstances.  At any other time her response would have been a snappy “no.”  But she couldn't answer in the negative now, not with his earnest questioning look and death but a hundred paces away.

"Yes," she whispered and closed her eyes.  He wrapped her arms around his neck and she knew he was going to kiss her for the first and last time.

"Hold on.  Jump up and wrap your legs tightly around my waist," Eric shouted in her ear, as the yasmirs thundered closer.

Kasha had no time to question the insanity of his plea.  All she could think of was Eric’s handsome body lying battered and tortured in a dark dungeon.  She leapt up as instructed and wrapped her long legs around his waist.  Maybe this was some rite Earth people engaged in before death.  

Eric ran, his legs pumping hard to gain momentum, her added weight easily supported.  Her mind blanked out for several seconds as he ran toward the cliff's edge and she knew he was going to hurl them to their death.  He jumped off the cliff, his run helping him clear the edge nicely.  

She heard the enemy on the cliff as their yasmirs' scrabbled to a sudden halt, their loud cries of surprise carried on the wind.  Then all she heard was screaming; her screaming, she realized after a moment.  Kasha clamped her lips together and fought to control her racing heart.

A sharp jerk snapped them both upward.  Slitting her eyes open, it took a fuzzy few seconds for it to filter through that they no longer plummeted towards the ground.  They were falling, yes, but at a much slower rate.  Still feeling like she were caught in the web of a bad nightmare, she looked cautiously around.

Why this excerpt was special to me when I was writing it.

 Princess Kasha does not want to get married. She is Getra, a warrior woman, and she has a  secret that holds her from committing to a relationship.

                Eric is a Green Beret from Earth, who falls hard for the princess when they 1^st meet. He uses his considerable charm to try and win her heart, but everything he attempts fails.

                In frustration, Kasha tells Eric when he can fly like a basami” (the legendary dragon of Volarn), she’ll marry him. She knows this is not possible. Volarnians are not technologically advanced, and the only spaceship belongs to the alien merchants.

            Eric talks Kasha into viewing the scenery from a mountaintop while out on patrol, and they are spotted by the enemy. In the depicted scene, Kasha knows that Eric will be killed and she probably taken prisoner.

            At the end of the scene Kasha realizes they are not plummeting down the cliff after they jumped, but slowly drifting. Eric must explain what a parachute is to her. This scene was special to me, because it is the solution Eric found to “fly”, thus fulfilling the princess’ challenge.